for me it's being able to connect with people all over the world. My cousins are spread across the world (china, central pacific and Canada to name a few places) and the internet lets me keep in contact with them.

I do all my banking via the internet

I've been watching a court case I'm a party to this week via a streaming video link.

I can check out book reviews and the latest news from my favorite authors.

for my hubby it allows him to do his job no matter where he is. he is an internet radio producer. The show he produces covers the US, Canada and even has a big listening base in Japan. It doesn't matter whether he is in the US or here in Australia, he can do his job.

When we were at sea on 9/11, the ship allowed any passenger who wanted it, free internet time to contact people at home. That was so much better than attempting a ship to shore phone call from the middle of the Atlantic.

Just in the last week we've used the net to...

Watch a ship with relatives on board sail from Port Everglades.

Look up a photograph of a historical person in a book I was reading. (Yes, he lived in a time when photography was common).

Find some info about Bill Wyman while watching a show from 1981 of the Stones performing with Muddy Waters.

Of course, there's always Ehell.

There is a lot of junk on the net but there are wonderful aspects too.

Back in the 1990s, I found a quote that I used in a paper. It went something like, 'The Internet is like the American West in the 19th century. It's a place of great freedom and great opportunity. Unfortunately, like the West, it also has its share of bandits and rustlers'.

Forum discussions! How could I overlook that! We were on Prodigy back in 1990 and I had to explain that I was having discussions with people around the US. People looked at me like I was nuts. As a STAHM with a new baby it was great!